Top Ten: Weekend roundup: How the Fed props up stocks | Broad effects of government shutdown | Dividend stocks that beat Dow and S&P

MarketWatch rounds up 10 of its most interesting topics over the past week.

1. ‘Ugly truth’ for investors

The Dow Jones Industrial Average

DJIA, -0.55%

was up 3% for 2019 through Jan. 10, but investors are still reeling from the 12% fourth-quarter decline. This detailed article about how massive injections of liquidity by the Federal Reserve and other central banks has propped up stocks for 10 years struck a chord with hundreds of thousands of MarketWatch readers.

More about the Federal Reserve and the markets:

• Caroline Baum: The Fed’s murder weapon is hiding in plain sight

• Michael Brush: These five factors could stop the stock market’s rally cold

• Stock market bulls say it is starting to feel like 2016 all over again

2. Dividend stocks that beat the Dow and SP 500

It may not surprise you that companies that steadily increase dividend payouts held up better than the SP 500 index

SPX, -0.47%

last year, but this group of dividend stocks has beaten the benchmark indexes across various long-term periods as well.

Related: These three ETFs have beaten SP indexes while cutting risk

3. Uber, Lyft and the government shutdown

The ride-sharing companies’ initial public offerings may be delayed.

4. What to do if the government shutdown keeps you from being paid

The partial shutdown of the federal government is now tied for the longest in 20 years. Here are ways for the 800,000 federal employees who aren’t getting paid to shore up their finances and protect their credit scores.

More on the shutdown:

• Chris Edelson: Trump’s national emergency threat shows he’s up against the wall in border fight

• Government shutdown poses threat of agricultural data shock

• Cato Institue: The shutdown’s real lesson is that government has taken hostage too much of the economy

5. Early retirement and a declining stock market

Here’s how an early retiree fared as the market went down.

6. Guess which job was most commonly held by self-made billionaires early in their careers

Hint: It prepares people very well for future work as executives.

More on work: This is the No. 1 job in America if you want to make six figures and have low stress

7. A happy story about marriage — and debt

Quentin Fottrell — MarketWatch’s moneyist — follows up with a couple who have been working hard to tackle a massive amount of debt.

8. You might make a lot of money with these takeover targets

9. Bezos and the money

Amazon.com

AMZN, -0.81%

CEO Jeff Bezos and his wife MacKenzie Bezos announced they plan to divorce. A divorce involving the world’s richest man is bound to be complicated, not only for the couple but for Amazon and its shareholders. Here’s a sampling of MarketWatch coverage:

• Want to learn the details of the Bezos split? Maybe look for SEC filings

• How a postnup could help Jeff Bezos divide his $137 billion fortune

• MacKenzie Bezos could be soon worth more than Oprah and the Queen of England

10. Musk as rocket man

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Philip van Doorn covers various investment and industry topics. He has previously worked as a senior analyst at TheStreet.com. He also has experience in community banking and as a credit analyst at the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York.